The Use of Meta-Analysis in Exercise and Sport: A Tutorial

Abstract

Meta-analysis is a set of procedures used to quantify, integrate, and analyze the findings of a large number of research studies. It offers the advantage of quantifying effects from individual studies in addition to specifying the procedures the authors followed when reviewing the literature. Although meta-analysis has been demonstrated as a useful technique in exercise and sport research, and new and more appropriate statistical techniques for use in meta-analysis have been developed, these procedures are not widely used. This tutorial describes these advances and provides an example of their application to data from gender differences in throwing velocity during childhood and adolescence.